MK Bill to Scrap Self-Determination Is an Attack on Democratic Choice

MEDIA STATEMENT — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The CAPEXIT Party condemns the proposed Constitution Twenty-Fourth Amendment Bill, 2026, introduced by MK Party MP Mzwanele Manyi, which seeks to repeal Section 235 of the Constitution — the only provision that explicitly recognises the right of communities to self-determination.

This is not a technical amendment. It is a deliberate attempt to shut down lawful, constitutional pathways for communities to determine their own future.

Section 235 forms part of South Africa’s negotiated constitutional settlement. It acknowledges a simple reality: this is a diverse country, and unity was never meant to erase identity. Removing it does not strengthen the Constitution — it weakens its ability to accommodate that diversity. The claim that the Bill of Rights makes Section 235 unnecessary is fundamentally flawed.

Individual freedoms do not replace community rights. The right to speak a language is not the same as the right of a community to sustain itself.

More telling is the political signal behind this move. Rights are not removed because they are irrelevant — they are removed because they may be exercised.

Support for self-determination in the Western Cape is growing. Instead of engaging this reality democratically, this amendment seeks to close it down constitutionally.

“Let us be clear: self-determination includes the right of a people to pursue independence through peaceful and democratic means,” said CAPEXIT Party leader Jack Miller.

The future of the Western Cape must be decided by its people — not restricted by politicians in Pretoria.

“CAPEXIT will continue to advocate, without compromise, for the right of the people of the Western Cape to decide their own future — including the option of independence,” Miller added.

Suppressing constitutional avenues for self-determination will not eliminate the demand for it. It will strengthen it.

No constitutional amendment can extinguish that democratic right